Some days are just better than others

A mere two days ago, I ran 3km at a snails pace and felt terrible. It was my first run since being healthy again. Compare that to tonight, when I went for a 6km run in 45 minutes. I felt great from the very beginning. The temperature was perfect at -4 degrees C and the sun was just starting to set. I think it was a mind-set thing. I had a short day at work and it felt very spring-like as I walked home from my staff meeting. It was relatively unstressful and maybe that came out in my run.

As I started, it felt so magical. The snow wafted slowly down as the sky was light pink from the setting sun. People were smiling and happy. I wore light clothing and I felt like I was floating. My stride was long and smooth and I listened to my Ipod shuffle just to kick it up a notch. I used to never listen to music when running because I thought it took away from concentration of my run. I still think it does, but in the winter sometimes I just need a little more boost to get me out of my warm house.

My feet and ankles are kind of giving me grief these days. They just are not happy and I think I might have to change shoes. I have a pair waiting for me at Brainsport, so I’m going to go there this weekend to see if I can purchase them. Sometimes feet just need a change of shoe, even though my current shoes are only 1 month old (they are identical to the last pair I had). I also got a stitch in my side early on, but with some breathing techniques it quickly disappeared. All of this was in the first couple of kilometres. The rest of it was easy peasy and I felt great!

After the run, I did some abs and push-ups to top it off. Again, I felt great. YAY for being healthy!! I can’t wait to mellow out with some yoga tomorrow morning.

I have seen vegan tri suits, but I don’t have one. I saw one that said “Plant powered” on the back. I think she had hers specially made. I use a regular tri top and tri shorts. I’ve had the same ones for MANY years; like, 10 years! They are Sugoi, so obviously they are long-lasting. They are still in decent shape and I’m going to use them next weekend! I looked online, but there is not a whole lot. We should design one for all the vegan triathletes! I know a couple of places that make specialized designs for triathletes. I’ll look into it. Thanks for the comment!

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What is VT?

This website is one that I, Crystal Clarke, started in 2007 with big ideas. It is morphing slowly into a resourceful website for vegans and athletes alike. I put my personal touch on this website in the recipes and the training blog, as I'm a writer, a scientist, a triathlete & a vegan. So what is a vegan triathlete? Well...

vegan. n. vee-gahn. - a person who refrains from using any animal product whatever for food, clothing, or any other purpose.triathlete. n. someone who participates in races consisting of swimming, biking, and running in that order; there are several varying distances with some standard distances:
Sprint: 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run
Olympic: 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Half Ironman: 2km swim, 90km bike, 21.1km run
Ironman: 3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run

Who am I?

My name is Crystal Clarke. I'm a vegan triathlete. I've been vegan since 2002 and a triathlete since 2003. Since then I have completed 1 Ironman, 4 half IMs, several Olympic triathlons, and many other triathlons, duathlons, running races, and biking races. My goal for each race is to finish. I'm pretty slow, but can be a middle-of-the-pack person if I'm not injured and train consistently.

In addition to being a vegan triathlete, I'm a writer, I'm an Agrologist, I'm a soil scientist, I'm a knitter, I'm an anti-consumer, I'm an environmentalist, I'm a budding Buddhist, I'm a yogi, I'm a student of life, and I'm bipolar. I'm a lot of things! I don't fit into any one category - that's what I think sets me apart from other athlete blogs.